Podcasts Business Community Signal Safeguarding a Diabetes Charity Community and Knowing if Youve Done the Right Thing

Safeguarding a Diabetes Charity Community and Knowing if Youve Done the Right Thing

Published: March 27, 2023, 9:30 a.m.

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Safeguarding is a term used in Ireland and the United Kingdom that covers efforts to protect the health, wellbeing, and human rights of people, especially children and those who are otherwise vulnerable.

At\\xa0Diabetes UK, four people alternate by week as the safeguarding lead, helping to protect those that the charity comes in contact with. One of them is Josh Poncil, the online community and learning manager. Among his responsibilities is\\xa0Diabetes UK\\u2019s online forum.

On this episode, we talk about safeguarding and knowing if you\\u2019ve done the right thing at the end of the day, plus:

  • What is considered \\u201ctoo technical\\u201d for the average member to answer in a diabetes community?
  • How Josh writes for a vulnerable audience
  • Moderation decisions that could trigger a meltdown

Big Quotes

When veteran members go bad (18:39): \\u201c[After 25 years in content moderation,] I really believe that the most stressful situation is when an experienced member takes a turn for the worst. \\u2026 It\\u2019s painful because they are an example to other people in the community. Especially new members who see their posts and say, \\u2018That member has this number of contributions and has been in the community this long. If they [post] that and it\\u2019s up still, that\\u2019s probably how this community behaves.\'\\u201d -Patrick O\\u2019Keefe

An example of safeguarding in an online community (23:43): \\u201cI had someone on the forum saying, \\u2018I\\u2019ve just been diagnosed a couple of weeks ago. I\\u2019ve barely eaten.\\u2019 That\\u2019s like an alarm ringing bells in my head. I\\u2019ll take the lead and private message them. \\u2026 \\u2018Is everything okay? Could you please contact the helpline or tell us what\\u2019s going on?\\u2019

\\u201cLet\\u2019s say they got back to me saying, \\u2018Yes, I haven\\u2019t eaten anything. I don\\u2019t feel well. I feel dizzy.\\u2019 Then I\\u2019ll contact back, \\u2018Do you need me to call an ambulance?\\u2019 Sometimes they\\u2019ll go back to me, \\u2018Yes, here\\u2019s my address, my telephone number.\\u2019 I\\u2019ll ring [the emergency service] 999. I have to be careful what I say at the beginning because of my accent. I\\u2019m American, but I live in London. I have to make sure I\\u2019m not coming off as a scam. I\\u2019m calling from a charity. I have a safeguarding concern.\\u201d -Josh Poncil

With safeguarding, you regularly are questioning if you did the right thing (24:53):\\xa0\\u201cI\\u2019ve had someone on the forum saying, \\u2018My mom is in quite a worrying state. She\\u2019s scared to go to the hospital. She\\u2019s dizzy, she\\u2019s not coherent. I\\u2019m scared she hasn\\u2019t been testing for blood sugars.\\u2019 On my end, I\\u2019ve contacted the daughter, \\u2018Please get your mom to [Accident and Emergency]. It sounds like she needs medical attention.\\u2019 They\\u2019ve got back to me, \\u2018Thank you for getting in touch, but my mom didn\\u2019t make it.\\u2019 This affected me, and it hit me quite hard not knowing if I did the right thing. I have to just take a moment of, \\u2018Did I make the right choice? Is there anything else I could do at this time?\'\\u201d -Josh Poncil

About Josh Poncil

For the last 4 years,\\xa0Josh Poncil\\xa0has been the online community and learning manager for\\xa0Diabetes UK, after a stint at Blood Cancer UK. He went to school for creative writing and journalism, before transitioning to community by way of social media management.

Related Links

Transcript

Your Thoughts

If you have any thoughts on this episode that you\\u2019d like to share, please leave me a comment or\\xa0send me an email. If you enjoy the show, we would be so grateful if you spread the word and supported\\xa0Community Signal on Patreon.

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